Shore Patrol: Time for birdwatching at Los Cerritos Wetlands

Exotic, some might say. Stunning, others would agree. This is an opportune time to get a view of the wild birds - many resting from their Pacific Flyway journeys in the former Hellman Ranch section of the Los Cerritos Wetlands in Seal Beach.

In this area, the birds generally rest at Los Cerritos Wetlands - a sprawling area that stretches on both sides of the San Gabriel River, both in Long Beach and Seal Beach.

The area is monitored by environmentalists, including El Dorado Audubon members

Recently, the Audubon members participated in the National Audubon Society's 112th Christmas Bird Count, from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5.

Thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas documented their sightings.

El Dorado's count circle - the area that would be combed by about 50 volunteer bird counters - is 15 miles in diameter and includes beaches, part of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, San Gabriel River, Los Angeles River, parks and golf courses, said Audubon activist Mary Parsell.

Total species seen this year were 159, Parsell said.

"It shows the wonderful diversity of avian species," she added.

The volunteers were armed with binoculars and notebooks.

"The count makes an enormous contribution to conservation," Parsell said, adding that the Audubon Society and other organizations use the "robust data base" collected in the longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations - and to help guide conservation action.

Gum Grove park in Seal Beach, nestled adjacent to the former Hellman Ranch, "is just as good a place to see the migration birds," Parsell said.

For details about El Dorado Audubon's bird walks and natural science programs, visit www.eldoradoaudubon.org. El Dorado Audubon's mission is preservation of native birds and their habitats and education about them to members and the community.

Restricting flights

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher held a recent meeting at Seal Beach City Hall to discuss limiting flights over Old Town.

Federal Aviation Administration and Long Beach Airport representatives were at the meeting, according to Ellery Deaton, 1st District councilwoman for Old Town and Surfside.

"Rohrabacher was very firm in telling the FAA that we don't want the planes coming over Old Town when there is the whole Naval Weapons Station to fly over," Deaton reported in a recent newsletter.

The meeting resulted in a short-term resolution and a long-term, permanent solution.

The short-term resolution is to have a Letter of Agreement, signed by the FAA, the Long Beach tower and the airlines, all agreeing that pilots are to fly further south "to an agreed upon coordinate that will bring them in over the Navy base," Deaton reported.

The longterm solution is to establish a "charted visual approach" for landing at Long Beach, directing the air traffic across the Naval Weapons Station rather than Old Town, Deaton added.